Canadians Say Debt Payoff is a Priority

Despite the continuous growth of household debt in Canada, a new poll says Canadians want to make paying off their debt the #1 priority in 2015.

The poll, by Nielsen for CIBC, says paying down debt is the top financial priority for Canadians for the 5th year in a row. As part of the poll, Canadians identified their top five priorities for the year ahead – and Nielsen/CIBC has been charting these responses for the past five years:

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Paying Down Debt

22%

16%

17%

17%

14%

Building Savings

12%

11%

10%

10%

10%

Paying Bills / Getting By

10%

8%

7%

3%

—

Managing Day-to-Day Spending / Budgeting

9%

8%

8%

14%

12%

Retirement Planning

5%

7%

7%

11%

13%

Christina Kramer, an EVP with CIBC says:

Not only have Canadians told us debt repayment is their number one financial priority for five years running, for 2015 we see an even greater number of Canadians focused on better managing debt in the year ahead. While it is encouraging that paying down debt is important to Canadians, it is also important not to lose sight of longer term goals like retirement planning.